This chapter aims to provide a better understanding of talent management-employee engagement links and investigates the impact of talent management practices on employee engagement in different work organizations, especially in the oil and gas sector. To achieve the objectives of this research, a literature review was conducted to provide a better understanding of the two concepts and to identify the main talent management factors that affect employee engagement. Besides discussing the various theoretical backgrounds of both talent management and employee engagement, this chapter also includes an application case that practically tested the links between the two constructs.
TopIntroduction
As competition has intensified in today’s rapidly changing markets and work environments, many organisations have started to explore the different means of survival, growth and development. Accordingly, the need to manage the human side of the job started to rise and the idea that the ‘people’ are the bottleneck of the business started to gain some attention, acceptancy and popularity. Employee Engagement (EE) and Talent Management (TM) are some of the people-related concepts that have recently received considerable attention from both practitioners and researchers (e.g. Scullion, Collings & Caligiuri, 2010, Saks & Gruman, 2014; Kumar, 2022). Therefore, various studies have been conducted separately for each concept aiming to investigate their impact on productivity, organizational performance and competitive advantages which have been the main theme in the management literature (Amit & Shoemaker 1993; Barney, 1991; Collings & Mellahi, 2009; Lepak & Snell 1999; Saks & Gruman, 2014; Wernerfelt, 1984).
For example, Abdullahi et al. (2022) attempted to examine the talent management practices on employee performance in Malaysian private universities (MPUs). They found that TM plays significant role in influencing employee performance. Abdullahi et al. concluded that “…universities management should focus on TM practices as a tool to achieve and maintain EE and positive attitudes (EP-Employee Performance) in relation to work” (p. 589). Rumawas (2021) tested the links between TM practice, perceived organizational support and EE and their impact on the turnover intention of ‘Generation Y’ Employees (GYEs). Following a survey of 182 subjects from GYEs, Rumawas found that TM has a significant effect on both perceived organizational support and employee engagement. The study also reported that TM and EE have significant yet negative effect on turnover intention. Likewise, Kumar (2022) studied the impact of talent management practices on employee turnover and retention intentions. The study found that TM is crucial for talent retention and engagement. Dalal and Akdere (2023) examined the link between TM and employee job-related outcomes in India. The survey of 992 full-time employees working in one of the largest textiles and paper manufacturing organizations revealed that TM practices significantly impact job-related outcomes including job engagement. The research also reported organizational culture is significantly linked to TM and employee job-related outcomes and that it does moderate TM-Employee job-related outcomes relationships.
Elmasri and Suliman (2019) tried to explore the links between talent management, employee recognition and performance in the research institutions of Qatar. The results uncover that TM and employee recognition play significant role in shaping the level of employee performance and his/her readiness to contributing to the organizational success and positioning. Elmasri and Suliman concluded that “creating a Talent Management system that best fit the organizational structure is essential for any organization, as it affects the employees` level of engagement,